Newsletter #16 (Mini Version): Get to Chapman Park 5/3 or Augusta 5/8 to Submit Testimony on Anti-Trans Bills
Newsletter supplement sent out May 2, 2025
Update, 5/5: if you didn’t make it to the park to submit video testimony on May 2, get to the Maine State House in Augusta on Thursday May 8, ask for directions to the Judiciary Committee hearing room, and sign up there to testify on the anti-Trans bills listed below. If you can’t go, see http://equalitymaine.org/takeaction/ for tips on how to submit written testimony.
Breaking: Hearing on Anti-Trans Bills is Coming This Thursday May 8
Here we are again, with those people whipping up bigotry again, always targeting the most vulnerable. We have a chance to record and enter local video testimony into the permanent searchable record of the Maine State House, and to post that testimony on YouTube to spread our message of defiance further. Gather the next time the sun shines: Saturday May 3. We will plan this at 10 AM at the Rockland UU Church (345 Broadway) - park across the street. We will plan. Then at Noon, we record in the park. Finally, those who can, go to the Maine State House Thursday May 8 to speak in morning and afternoon testimony. Details on testimony below.
I would like to thank three people.
1. Stephanie Mindykowski let me know about a whole set of anti-Trans bills a week or so ago. We didn't see a hearing date for the bills yet, but we decided we'd check back to see if one popped up.
2. Annie Kiermaier let me know just tonight about a quickly upcoming day of hearings on Thursday, May 8 at the Maine State House in Augusta.
3. Heather Ellsworth told me about the hearing too, just a few minutes after that.
When we get to this item on the agenda at our 10 AM Meeting I will call on these three folks to speak to the issue first.
We will have a few copies of the bills' text for you to learn more, but it would be so helpful if you would read the bills following the links below, and print out a copy of a bill to bring if you need the reference when you testify.
Thanks to Equality Maine for these summaries and links!
Morning block:
LD 233: An Act to Prohibit Biological Males from Participating in School Athletic Programs and Activities Designated for Females When State Funding Is Provided to the School
This bill would ban any school that receives state funding from allowing transgender girls to participate in school sports.
LD 868: An Act to Ensure Equity and Safety in Athletics, Restrooms, Changing Rooms and Housing at Elementary, Secondary and Postsecondary Schools
This bill would ban transgender girls from school sports. It goes further than other bills by also banning trans and non-binary students from using the bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
LD 1002: An Act to Protect Children's Identification by Requiring Public Schools to Use the Name and Gender Specified on a Child's Birth Certificate
This bill would require schools to refer to a student by the name and gender on their birth certificate, unless a parent gives written permission to use a different name and/or gender, or documents detailing a legal change are provided to a school.
Afternoon block:
LD 1337: An Act to Amend the Maine Human Rights Act Regarding Female Athletes and Safety in Women's Single-sex Shelters
This bill would exempt privately owned shelters providing emergency service to women from anti-discrimination requirements as detailed in the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). This bill also amends the MHRA to align with Federal Title IX analysis related to rights of female athletes.
LD 1432: An Act to Remove Consideration of Gender Identity from the Maine Human Rights Act
This bill would remove all references to “gender identity” as a protected class in the Maine Human Rights Act. Because discrimination against queer and trans people is technically discrimination on the basis of sex and/or sexual orientation, it is not immediately clear what effect removing “gender identity” would have on protections for trans Mainers.
LD 380: An Act to Amend Certain Laws Regarding Gender-affirming Health Care Services
This bill would repeal the current process by which a minor consents to gender-affirming hormone therapy and follow-up care, which would result in a prohibition on minors age 16 to 18 receiving gender-affirming care unless the minor child has parent or guardian consent.
LD 1134: An Act to Prohibit Males from Participating in Female Sports or Using Female Facilities
This bill would ban any schools receiving state funding from allowing transgender girls to participate in school sports. Additionally, it would ban trans girls from using school facilities "designated for use solely by females." The bill is vague, and the meaning of "facilities" is unclear—this could potentially include a bathroom ban, taking us back more than a decade to debate an issue that has long been settled.
LD 1704: An Act to Prohibit a School Administrative Unit from Adopting a Policy That Allows a Student to Use a Restroom Designated for Use by the Opposite Sex
This bill is a “bathroom ban” that would prohibit schools from creating policies allowing students to use a bathroom if that bathroom does not correspond to the student's sex assigned at birth.
